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Hollinger 

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Mill Run F3-1955 






Col WoRTHiNGTON Vindicated. 



SHKRMAN'S 



DISCREDITABLE RECORD AT 




ET F It # p: 



OWN AND BETTER EVIDENCE. 



WASHINGTON CITY: 

Thomas MeQill & Co., Printers and Stereotypers. 

1878. 



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GEN. W. T. SHERMAN 

DECLINES AN INVESTIGATION 

OF THK 

RECORD OF COLWORTHINGTON'S COURT-MARTIAL, 

So nothing is left but an Appeal to the People. 



Washington, D. C, March 31, 10 a. m. 
Gen. W, T. Sherman : If it is to be iufen-ed from your statement in 
the Washington Post and New York Herald, as to my dismissal by j^our 
court-martial in August, 1862, that j^on reassert the charges and evidence of 
the record to which you refer, and are willing the same sliall be investigated, 
together with your conduct in the battle of Shiloh, (excluded from the 
same,) please signify to the chairman of either Military Committee that 
you agree to an investigation; otherwise, return this paper to me, and 
oblige. 

Your obedient servant, 

T. WOBTHINGTON, 

Late Col. 46th Regt. 0. V. I. 

In answer to the above was the following indorsement : 
''Papers returned according to request. 

W. T. Sherman, General.'''' 



Extracts from a Diary of the Tennessee Expedition, 1862, by T. Worthing- 
ton. Colonel i(Mh Regiment O. V. I., for printing a proof-sheet of which' he 
was cashiered. 

Wednesday, March 26, 1862. — At Camp Shiloh, three miles from Pitts- 
burg Lauding. A company being called for picket duty to-day, detailed 
Captain Sharp's Company B. Indications of an attack, if the country peo- 
ple are to be believed. Their pickets are around, and too near us, showing 
a strong, effective force. 

Thursday, March 27, 1862. — This afternoon two of Sharp's pickets 
were tired on by the rebel horse, about 4^ p. M., not a mile from camp. A 
disgrace to the army that such should be the case, and an indication that 
they are covering some forward movement ; yet Sherman is improvident 
as ever, and takes no defensive and scarce any precautionary measures. 
He snubs me, and has no time to hear even a suggestion. 

Friday, March 28, 1862. — Having suggested to McDowell the sending 
out of a stronger picket, he ordered thirty more men, which were imme- 
diately volunteered. If Beauregard does not attack us, he and the chivalry 
are disgraced forever, if for nothing else. 

Saturday, Max-ch 29, 1862. — Sherman has refused to sign a requisition 
for seventy-two axes for my regiment, making it twenty-two; and while 
a slight abattis might prevent or avert an attack, there are no axes to make 
it, nor is there a sledge or crowbar in his division, and scarce a set of tools, 
out of my regiment. 

Monday, March 31, 1862.— Further indications through tlie pickets that 
an attack is imminent, and though I do not fear the result, a sudden attack, 
if violently made, as it will he, may throw us back for months. Tiie men 
are discouraged at our delay here and the close vicinity of the I'ebel i)ickets. 



which should bo di-iven oil'. Sherman is inviting an attack, which I hope 
niaj' occur, but for wliich \vc are unprepared. 

'J'tjesday, April 1, 18(52. — Have now over one hundred rounds of ammu- 
nition for all available men, and feel easy on that point. Ordered the cap- 
tains to send in accounts of clotliiui;, Arc, wanted, which the quartermaster 
is very careless about getting;.. Still no axes, wliich now he cannot get if 
he would, and whicli are worth more than guns at present. 

Thursday, April 3, 18G2.— Kode to Pittsburg Landing. .The place is 
crowded and in disorder below, with noise and gambling on the Ijank above, 
across the road from the post-office. Hunted up and down for clothing 
and axes, and found that Sherman had forbidd(;n his quartermaster from 
receiving anything. 

Tile indications are (still) of an attack, which I have also intimated to 
McDowell ; we should now have on our right at least six batteries and two 
regiments of cavalry to warn the rear. With thick woods 'before nsyind* 
l)ickets scarce a mile out, we have no defenses whatever, and na mc-V^isof' 
giving an alarm but l)y tlie fire of musketiy. The troops cover too nixich 
ground and cannot support each other, and a violent attack, which we may 
expect, may drive them back in detiiil. God help us, with so many sick 
men in camp, if we are attacked, there being over five thousand unfit for 
duty. 

Friday, April 4, 1862. — One of McDowell's pickets was shot in the 
hand about noon. A detail of Taylor's cavalry was sent out three or four 
miles; fou?i<l foin- to six hundred rebel cavalry, and fell back, returning 
about 4 P. M. 

Everything is carried on in a very negligent way, and nothing but the 
same con(hiet on the othcsr side can save us from disaster. They can con- 
centrate one hundred thousand men from the heart of rebeldom, and, with 
three or four railroads, have far greater facilities for handling troops than 
we liave. 

Have brigade ord(>i-s to stack arms at daylight till further ordei'S. Keep 
two companies lying on their arms, and though as quiet as possible, look 
for an attack every hour. 

Saturday, April 5, 18G2. — Kode out to Sharp's pickets at sunrise and 
found two men (n^bel pickets) wounded yesterday, who died last night at 
the Widow Howell's. About 7 o'clock A. M. the rebels drove in Lieutenant 
Crarv from the Widow Howell's, getting possession of their dead men. 
Heard in tiie evening that the rebels had establisiied three guns (six-pound- 
ers) opposite Hildebrand's brigade, on om* left, across the valley. Hear of 
five more of their legiments arriving to-day. 

Sunday, April 6, 1862. — A clear, cool morning. Rode out to the pickets 
at sunrise, and soon after the enemy was seen aflvancing past the Howell 
house. 



Washington, June 6, 1862. 
Dear Sir: Your letter of May 23d came to hand. I saw Mr. Wade, as 
yon requested. 

It is a delicate matter fnr anyone connected with the Legislative Depart- 
ment of the Government to interfere with the Military details, and I doubt 
whether Mr. Wade will tliink '\X judicious to do anything. 

Whatever is done in n^gai-il to inquiries will hav«! to \v?. accomplished, I 
think, through the regular Military channels. 

Truly yours, 

V. B. HORTON. 

Col. Tnas. Worthington. 

CommandiiKj idih Ohio Volunteers. 



viiXA-^ itVVXA-X^ L U. tCf^^ 



REP ^^ U LK AIM I ' Altl ' i AUK NOi ' BOUND bi THijJ FAK ' n FOF 

. 1862. 



-//- 



44Tn CONGEESS, 1 HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIVES. ( Eepoiit 



2d Session. 



T. WORTHIM>TCKSr. 



January 19, 1877.— Laid oh the table and ordered to be printed. *.^ 

Mr. Strait, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the 

following 



CaJmJ^-^^^^^ 



The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the petition 
of T. Worthington, late colonel Forty-sixth Regiment Ohio Vo hinteer 
Infantry, asking that some action be taken by Congress in his behalt, to 
exculpate petitioner from certain charges of which he was found guilty 
by a general court-martial, return the same back to the House, with the 
recommendation that it lie on the table. ^ xu„ 

These papers show that Col. T. Worthington, as colonel of the 
Forty-sixth Ohio Infantry Volunteers, was, on the 16th feeptember, 
1862, tried by a general court-martial, and dismissed, " for drunkenness 

^^Th'e^fvidenVo'f General W. T. Sherman, Capt. L. M. Dayton, General 
J. M. Corse, Maj. W. D. Sanger, and others, before the court by whom he 
was tried, shows that Colonel Worthington was, on the 13th July, 186^, 
in a " state of disgraceful drunkenness " while in the face of the enemy. 
I Your committee do not think it advisable at this late date, alter a 
I lapse of nearly fifteen years, to undertake to review the action ot the 
' court-martial. It would be a great sacrifice of time, and incur a very 
heavy expenditure of money to send for witnesses, to enable your com- 
mittee to arrive at any remedy for his relief. Hence your committee do 
not deem it advisable to make any recommendation on his petition, 
I other than to have it lie on the table. 

7Z^ u^^ a4^^v<r ^v^^C «^ ^>r^U^lx.u..JU<^U 



nvtX t^tn^^lx^ 



/ 





-T^tBSTRACT OF EVIDENCE A'ND FACTS 



DEVELOPED BY 



T. Worthingtori's court-martial, at Memphis, Tennessee, August, 
1862, of ivhich no other official evidence could otherwise he ob- 
tained; and the only official evidence of the causes ivhicli led di- 
rectly to the slaughter and disgrace at Shiloh, April 6th, 1862 ; 
shoioing, cdso, the efforts of Colonel Worthington, A6th Ohio, to 
avert the disaster, and how its most terrible and seemingly inev- 
itable results were, by the troops under his command on the ex- 
treme Union right fiank, almost miraculously averted, April 6th, 
1862. 



1st. Extract from a letter of General W. T. Sherman, 5tli Division, Army 
of the Tennessee : 

Moscow, July 16th, 1862. 
Colonel Worthington, Com'g, La Fayette: 

We are ordcn-il to move. My division will come to-morrow, or tiie clay 
after, to La Fayette, where you will be prepared to join yonr brig-ade, with 
all yonr men and nieiins of transportation. Be prepared to destroy your 
woi-ks then, and an3'^thing that would be of service to the enemy, who maj' 
come in. We are to operate further South. 

If Colonel McDowell be at or near La Fayette, please inform him of this 
fact, &G. I v\ant to spare his troops the mai'ch, &e. 

[Signed,] W. T. Sherman, 

Maj or- General. 

2d. On the first char<;e of drunkenness on duty as commanding officer 
at La Fayette, Tennesset', General W. T. Sherman, the officer calling the 
court, and also the prosecutor and chief witness, being sworn, testified : 
That Colonel Worthington commanded -16th Ohio, iu Colonel McDow- 
ell's Brigade, oth Division. On July ISfh, 1862, he commanded a redoubt, 
built by himself and his command, at La Fayette, with orders to protect the 
road and bridges. 

About 10 A. M. of that day I reached the station, and saw Colonel Worth- 
iugton in a state of disgracefid drunkenness, &c. Major Hammond, A. A. 
G.. and Captain Dayton and Major Sanger testified to the same elfect — 
Major Sangei" swearing that he came into the Fort about 11 A. M. and af- 
terwards saw him, several times, loudly cursing and swearing at teamsters, 
sutlers, &c. 

3d. Three teamsters testified that they saw no indication of intoxication 
in the Colonel's manner. His ordtuTy testified that he was not intoxicated, 
but got on his horse as usual ; and the sutler and teamsters testified that 
they did not hear the loud and indecent cursing and swearing charged by 
Major Sanger. 

Two testified that they saw him at halt of the troops, which was half a 
mile from the Fort, at 11 A. M.; proving it unlikely that Major Sanger saw 
Colonel W. in the Fort at all. 

4th. The evidence of Major Hammond, Lieutenant-Colonel Corse, 6th 
Iowa, &c., proved that the brigade evacuated the post, and Colonel W.'s 
regiment— 46th Ohio — left the Fort two hours before the time of the 



offense cliarged by General Sherman, who was therefore himself in com- 
mand at the time charged ; and Lieutenant-Colonel Corse testified that 
when he left with the brigade, between 8 and 9 A. M., Colonel W. was 
sober, in liis opinion. 

5th. Colonel McDowell, commanding the brigade, testified to his being 
in command of the post on the 17tli and 18th, and was in command till 
General Sherman's arrival — about 8 A. M., on tlie 18th Jul}^ 18G2. All of 
whicii proves that Colonel W. could not have been guilty of the offense 
charged. 

Gth. Tlie second charge of habitual drunkenness was negatived by the 
court. 

7th. To the tliird charge, of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentle- 
man, in printing, or causing to be printed, on a siieet for circulation, what 
purported to be extracts from his diary of the Tennessee expedition, con- 
taining false and libellous matter calculated and designed to injure liis 
superior officers — Colonel McDowell and Generals Grant and Siierman. 

Which said diary was not made contemporaneous with the dates set forth 
in it, but was fabricated or manufactured after the occasion to fulfill some 
base and dishonorable purpose. To this charge Genei'al Sherman certified 
that Captain Giesy, 46th Oliio, had left at his quarters about the 10th of 
August, 1862, a printed sheet, headed "Private and Confidential," contain- 
ing matter false and libellous. To prove which, he made oath, among 
many other statements, — 

8th. That Colonel W. repeatedl}^ warned his brigade and division com- 
manders of impending danger — urging the fortification of the position a 
weeiv before tlie attack. 

9th. That there was reason to expect an attack on the 3d of Ajsril, 1862* 
while charging that Colonel W.'s diary entry of the 3d to the same eflect 
was ''^ false and libellous.'''' 

10th. After swearing that there was reason to expect an attack on the 
3d, with no enemy within six miles of his front, he testifies that no one — 
not even Colonel W. — could expect an attack on Frida}^ the 4th, with the 
infantry, cavalry, and artillery of the enemy less than three miles from his 
front, and when their drum-beat was heard at the outposts of the camp. 

11th. He swears that no stronger position was ever held by an armj', 
because defended bj' Owl and Lick Creeks, which were jiroven anj'where 
foi'dable before and on the day of the battle. 

12th. He testified that Buell's troops had been rightfullj^ expected for 
two weeks, while knowing that when at Duck Kiver, ninety miles ofl", 
Buell's division commanders had been notified not to reach Savannali, 
eight miles on the river below Pittsburgh, till the 7th ; and knowing, also, 
that on the morning of the 4th of April General Nelson, with the advance, 
was notified that he need not be up till the 8th ; and knowing, as he testifies, 
that there was reason to expect an attack on the 3d, which, according to 
General Johnson's original intention, should have occurred on the 1st or 
2d of April, 1862. 

13th. He swears that Colonel W.'s diary entry, that he covered too much 
ground, is false ; which evidence he upsets by other evidence, that the gap 
on his left, of about a mile, was intended for an army of 40.000 men, re- 
quiring a single line of eight miles, without artillery; which monstrous 
fiction he smothers by the extinguisher that Buell was to have been sent 
to Hamburgh, on tlie river, four miles above ; and thus proving that there 
was a gap, which left open the "key point," as he calls it, of his position, 
which gap, on an official map, corrected and, of course, approved b}^ Gen- 
erals Grant and Sherman, (says Badeau,) is closed by the left flank of 
McClernand on Badeau's map. To crown this "'•tragedy of err-ors^^'' as it 
proved to be, this left flank of McClernand, on the official map, also ap- 
proved by Grant and Siierman, is in longitude half a mile west of the 
center of the gap in question. Q. E. D. 

14th. Repeating his evidence as to the strength of the position, — equal to or 



above any in the worlds — he swears that the flanks were well protected, &c., 
knowui^ that the creeks on front and flank proved to be tlie merest wagon- 
ruts in the way of the attack; that by means of the gap, whicli Buell was 
and was not to have filled, three divisions of the Union array had been 
turned at the moment of attack ; tliat his own, the 5th, and that of Prentiss, 
the 6th, had been driven back or dispersed from ten to ninety minutes after 
the attack, as was his 2d Brigade on the extreme left, and that tlie same, 
but for the 46th Ohio, would have occurred, as bj'^ him intended, on the 
extreme right, where he should liave been, but, fortunately or unfortu- 
nately, was not, when that flank was first threatened, about 11 A. M., and 
at that hour deserted by his aids and the brigade commander, doubtless 
by his ordei', when tlie 9 A. M. retreat of tlie 1st Brigade began, as also 
did his lonelj^ flight to the rear of McClernand's right. 

loth. Knowing, foiu- months after the battle, that the Confederates had 
but little over 41,000 men, lie swears that 43,000 Union troops stood their 
ground against 60,000 chosen troops of the South; while it liad been proven 
by all reports of the battle, his own and General Grant's inclusive, that, 
with the exception of two or, perhaps, three regiments of McClernand's 
division, comprising not over 800 men in line of battle, the whole army 
had been dispersed, and himself, with a few hundred fugitives, driven half 
a mile north of the Landing, which, having given up as lost, he made no 
efibrt to defend, while charging Buell as a laggard, who then and there 
prevented its capture and ills own, and towards wliich the Confederates 
had advanced within musket-shot, or two or three hundred yards, when 
repelled by General Ammen's brigade of Nelson's division, who, with Gen- 
eral Buell, according to General Grant, directed the attack against the last 
charge of the Confederates, about 5 p. m., April 6, 1862. 

16th. While swearing against the probabllit}^ of an attack on Friday, the 
4th, he had, with displeasure, admitted to Colonel Buckland that by the 
capture of a dozen prisoners he might have induced an attack before he 
was ready for it, thus proving his conviction that the Confederates had 
force sufficient in his front to warrant an attack that day, advised as he 
was, by Major Ricker, 5th Ohio Cavalry, that he had that afternoon en- 
countered Beauregard's advance, and warned during the night by the 
wounded and dying Confederates that he would be attacked next day. 

17th. While thus swearing against any probabUit}^ of an attack, he tes- 
tifies that he knew he had tlie elements of an enemy's army in his front, 
but did not know its strength, destination, or purpose; thus proving that 
military history has never before produced so great a commander, so en- 
tirel^y iiuiocent of that knowledge which the most stolid private in his armj'' 
should have possessed, and did possess ; for he proceeds to testif}^ — 

18th. That not a man in the camp but knew we had an enemy to the 
front before we slept that night, while his admitted stolidity is more or less 
relieved b}^ an assurance (truthless as the rest of his evidence) that the guard 
was strengthened, &c. 

19th. So far is this strengthening of the guard opposite to the fact, that 
Colonel Taylor's 5th Cavalry scouts were withdrawn that very evening, 
and not a horseman was sent to his front befoi-e the attack, some 36 hours 
thereafter, to the loss of 13,000 Union troops, not a score of whom need 
have been lost, if Buell's troops, on their arrival, before noon of the 5th, 
had been sent up to Hamburgh as intended. 

20th. He swears that no general could have sooner detected or reported 
the approach of an enemy, thus appropriating the mei'it of the small-arms, 
drums, and artillery of the enemy, detecting and reporting at the same 
instant the Confederates to be at hand. 

21st. It was proven on Colonel W.'s trial, by brigade commandei-s Buck- 
land and Hildebrand, and by the picket officers of the 46th Ohio, that the 
pickets of three brigades were driven in on Saturday, tlie 5th, at and after 
7 A. M., and the same reported to him, which he on oatli repeatedl}'' denies, 
swearing persistently that no pickets were driven In on the 5th. 



22(1. It WHS pioviMi that n picket post, tliree-qiiurters of a mile, b.y liis 
own evidence, in front of Buckland's centei", was occnpied by tlie Confed- 
erate artilleiy Sutiu'day afternoon, and tlio fact to liim i-eported, which, 
agaiiist hundreds of witnesses, lie tln-ee times on oatli denies, swearing 
tiiat Colonel W. could not possibl.y have heard anything of the kind. 

He testifies that lie has given an account of his operations from tlie 2d to 
the 7th of April, while not a word is said as to tiie occurrences of Saturday, 
Sunday, or Monday, except a denial of the driving in of the pickets on 
Saturday, and a crossing and reerossing of troops past the Howell house, 
to whicli lie called no evidence against tliat of picket-officer Sharpe, who 
testified, witliout question, that the Howell house was all day occupied by 
th« enemy's pickets. 

23d. As regards the Colonel of the 46th Ohio, the recoi-d proves, on Grcii- 
eral Slierraan's and other evidence, tliat he never neglected any duty 
wliatever ; that he visited his pickets, as conld iiave been proven, night and 
day after the 3d of April ; that he kept tAvo companies nightly on their 
arms after tliat date ; tliat he; practiced liis troops in the manual of arms, 
and especially loading and tiring, for two weeks before the battle; that he 
regularly visited liis hospital in camp and on the march. 

Diary extracts pronounced false on oath by Gen. W. T. Sherman., and proven 
true on his own evidence. 

Monday, March 31st, 1862. — Shernuin is inviting an attack, for whicii we 
ai'e uiiprej)ared. 

To whicii he answers. : 

Wliat business was it of liis whetlier his superior officer invited an attack 
or not? I was perfecth' willing tiiat we shoidd be attacked, and tiiink that 
Beauregard made a fatal mistake wlien lie did it; but I deny (tliird time) 
that tlie enemy had a battery near the Howell liouse tliat Saturday after- 
noon. 

Monda.y, April 3d, 1862,— Rode to Pittsburgh Landing. Tiie place is 
crowded and in disorder below, witii noise and gaml)rnig on tiic bank 
above. 

Tlie indications are still of an attack, wliich I have intimated to McDowell. 
The troops cover too mucli ground, and cannot support eacii other. To 
which he replies, on oath : I knew there \\as no liostile force within six 
miles, though there was reason to expect an attack. 

"We did not cover too much ground. Buell's troops had rightfully been 
expected for two weeks, and a place was left for his forces; althougli Gen- 
eral Grant afterwards determined to send Buell to Hamburgh (four miles 
above). 

Tlie gravamen of Sherman's charge was that the diary had been written 
'■'■after the occasion..'''' to secure to the writer a popular reputation for 
prophesy and foresight. In regard to this he testifies : I suppose that 
Colonel McDowell, like myself, had become tired of his prognostications ; 
and, also. Colonel AVorthington might have thought an attack imminent, 
because for weeks he was predicting the worst, and liopingit miglit liappen. 
This charge of predicting the worst, &c., is upset by Colonel McDowell, 
wlio testifies as follows, on question by Colonel W. : 

"I do not know that I ever heard you predict any actual disaster ; on 
Monday or Tuesday before the battle 'yon insisted that we would be at- 
tacked, and complained of the want of tools," — whicii upsets the charge of 
making tiie entries after the battle. To the diary entry tiiat a slight 
"■afcaftis" might prevent or avert an attack, Slierman replies : "To iiave 
erected fortifications would have been evidence of weakness, and would 
have invited an attack," and, tlieivfore, the inference is fair, there were no 
intrencliing tools provided by him, as was the case. Is it any wonder tliat 
every operation in the field under tlie immediate direction of tliis com- 
mander was a biniider, a failure, or a disaster, throughout the war, from 
Bull Hun to Durham Station r 



PART II. 



Hon. A. F. Perri/''s Opinion. 

There is notliino- in the printing or circulating such a diary, under the 
circumstances, on wliicii to found any sucii charge as '■'•conduct unbecom- 
ing an officei- and a gentleman " in the Army Regulations ; and in regard to 
the same, the Hon. A. F. Perry, of Ginciiniati, Ohio, late member of Con- 
gi-ess. exi)resses the professional opinion, with great regard for General 
Siiei-man, that '"It was no fault to keep a diary, and note in it the faults of 
his superiors, if he believed tiie truth and the public service i-equired them 
to be injured. Tlie existence of the printed sheet is tlie only evidence of a 
design to circulate it, and it does not appear to me such proof as should 
take away the charactei- of an officer and a gentleman." 

With regard to the charge of being drunk upon duty, he expresses the 
opinion that General Siierraan testified under feelings of uncontrolled 
i-esentraent. With reference to the specification of being found in a state 
of disgraceful drunkenness, he asks : "'Why discolor the record with such 
indications of personal revenge ? But tiiis feeling does not rest satisfied yet. 
Both specifications charge that he exliibited himself in that condition. He 
obtruded or exhibited iiimself. Now, if there is no foundation, absolutely 
none, for these charges, by way of exaggeration — that is to say, for these in- 
tensifjMng allegations — the fact tiiat they were used shows the ^animus'' in 
which these cliarges were made, and this '•animus'' will also show the 
influence which must have been brought to bear, consciously or uncon- 
sciously, on the court diu-ing the trial. 

''First, as to exhibiting himself. Wlien General Sherman and his staff 
arrived, they found Colonel W. somewiiat under tlie influence of liquor, 
but engaged in the performance of his proper duties. He exliibited him- 
self in the sense only of not hiding from them. He knew what was to be 
done, and did it. He mounted his horse without help, and i-ode with his 
regiment, neglecting nothing, and misdoing nothing, on tiie march. One 
or more of the witnesses tell us that his ordinary manner is unquiet and 
peculiar, and might suggest to those not intimatel}^ acquainted with him 
the idea of excitement from liquor, when entirely free from it. 

"Why, then, charge an officer, when just ready to march from a foit 
under orders, and in the presence of several superiors who ranked him, 
with being drunk in command of the fort, which is shown by the evidence 
of Major Hammond, and others, to have been evacuated bj' his regiment 
several hours before the time charged? Whj^ charge him, when able to 
mount his liorse and command his regiment, with being not merely drunk, 
but disgracefully drunk? It is true that tliis precise adjective is sworn to 
by General Sherman and portions of his staft", but that does not help the mat- 
ter — no, it is a mistake, an exaggeration. Feelings of resentment for 
injuries, real or imagined, found their way into the charges and the testi- 
mony. Dropping oft' all these intensifying words, for which no justifica- 
tion is found in tlu; facts, it will appear that on several occasions Colonel 
Worthington drank so much liquor as to attect iiis conduct and appearance, 
but it does not appear tliat this happened on any occasion when duties or 
responsibility were upon him. All I am intending to express, in the 
presence of such intensifying words, is to find out the true meaning; and 
I state it as my opinion that the language of the specification is not justi- 
fied by the evidence." 



6 

Extract from Hon. Chas. Mason'^s opinion on Worthington'' s court-martial 
record^ addressed to the Hon. H. B. Banning., Chairman of the Military 
Committee., House of Representatives: 

As an old West Point school-mate of Colonel Worthington, I have, 
without anj^ expectation of pecuniary compensation, sometimes under- 
taken to act as his adviser. 

In tliat capacity, I have been at no little pains to arrive at a correct con- 
clusion as to the Value of his military services, as well as to the injustice of 
which he complains. * * * 

At the battle of Shiloh, in particular, I unhesitatingly believe that but for 
the exti-aordinary and unexpected stand made by him the victory there and 
then achieved would have resulted in an overwhelming defeat. 

By tlie most daring pertinacity, he maintained his position on the right 
wing of the Union army, where he then held the chief command, and kept 
the Confederate forces in check for some two houi-s at a critical period, and 
tluis allowed the forces of General Buell to retrieve tlie fortunes of the day, 
which were otherwise lost beyond hope. This opinion, long since formed 
from other sources, is corroboi'ated by a recent letter of General Beaure- 
gai-d, wiio held the chief command of the hostile army after the fall of 
General Johnson. And if it be true, it will be difficult to overestimate tlie 
full value of his services on that important occasion. I have just as little 
doubt that the greatest injustice has been done him b}' the court-martial 
held in August, 1862, by which he was found guilty upon baseless charges, 
and sentenced to dismissal from the service. That sentence, it is true, was 
disapproved, for the very sufficient reason, that the court by which it was 
rendered was illegally organized ; but, still, it was virtually cariied into 
effect by his arbitrarj^ dismissal from office, and by a jjcrsistent deter- 
mination not to restore him. 

'i'he objection to the organization and action of that court was not tech- 
nical, but substantial, and its decision was not entitled to the least weight, 
either legally or morall3^ 

In regard to the cliarge of disgraceful drunkenness on duty, I find the 
subject so ably discussed in a review of the record said to have been made 
by the Hon. A. F. Ferry, that I shall not weaken the force of his criticisms 
by attempting to traverse the same grounds, and will merely say that E 
fully concin- with him in both his arguments and conclusions. 

IJnder the cliarge of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, tiie 
only ground to secure a conviction seems to have been certain extracts from 
a diary kept by the accused about the date of the battle of Shiloh, or just 
previoiis. 

Nothing in the evidence would justifj'^ the conclusion that he had been 
actuated by any malicious or ignoble motive ; nothing more than a desiri; 
to evince iiis own sagacit}'^ or his own superior vigilance. And the result 
fully shows that none of the providence and forethought evinced by liiiu 
was superfluous. 

Ferhaps, by a somewhat violent straining of language, the conduct of 
Colonel Worthington in this respect may have been I'egarded as unbecom- 
ing an officer; but with what propriety can it be said to have been unbe- 
coming a gentleman? The facts do not sustain the charge. 

This is a stigma that has been attached to his name by the verdict of a 
court-martial illegally constituted, and conducted under influences which 
were wholly inimical to the ascertainment of truth. 

It may not yet be too late to rescue from abject penury this victim of in- 
veterate injustice and oppression, and to make some adequate compensa- 
tion for the most meritorious and valuable services at a critical period of 
our military history. 

(Signed) Chas. Mason. 

As a further evidence against the veracity of the prosecutor — the baseness 



and baselessness of the charges, to say nothing of the pliabUity of the 
court — It may be here for the first time recorded that tlie "victim of this 
injustice " was in New York in February, 1863, to obtain the approval of 
an account by General McClellan. He there met General Scott, Colonel 
Monroe, a West Point graduate of 1815, Gen. Robt. Anderson, of Fort 
Sumter, who had all known him 30 or 40 years, and witli them General 
Swift, the first and oldest West Point graduate, aged 80 years at that time. 
He liad with him the record of his trial, and Hon. A. F. Perry's opinion 
thereon, both of which documents were scrutinized by these old and dis- 
tinguisiied oflicers. General Anderson and Colonel Monroe, both Southern 
men, had correspondents in botli armies, and had letters equivalent to tliat 
of General Beauregard's, herewith submitted; and, on consultation, after 
the Colonel had left for Washington, agreed upon the letters, as follows, 
inclosing the last to tlie Secretary of War : 

General Swiff s Letters. 

New York, February 26, 1863. 

Colonel WORTHINGTON,— Dear Sir : I have conversed with General 
Robert Anderson and Colonel- James Monroe on your subject, and also 
with General Scott ; and am f idly satisfied that the Government would find 
material benefit in offering you employment in the United States Armj^ 
and tiiat a good mode of satisfying ilie Secretary of War would be by his 
instituthig an inquiry by a board of officers as to your merits, and also as 
to the legality of the proceedings of the court-martial in your case. 

That yon were educated at West Point is an earnest of j'our having tliere 
acquired essential information, and tiiat your military conduct evinces that 
fact. In tliese days of seeming dearth of generalship in oui- army, it be- 
hooves tlie Government to seek the gentlemen who do possess tlie ability 
to conduct our good soldiers to victory; and I heartily wish you may find 
the employment you seek, not from personal motives on your part, but 
from devotion to our Union. 

I am, &c., «&c., 

(Signed) J. G. Swift, 

General Swift, formerly of the United States Armj', presents his compli- 
ments to tlie Hon. Mr. Stanton. 

General Swift having accidentally become acquainted with facts that 
relate to the character and military ability of Colonel Thomas Worthington, 
late a general officer of Ohio militia, is of opinion that the Colonel possesses 
qualities amply fitting him for the functions of a general officer. 

In these days, when such ability is not readily found, General Swift sug- 
gests respectfull}' to Mr. Stanton the institution of such inquirj^ as may 
satisfy Mr. Stanton as to the actual merits of Colonel Worthington. 

City of New York, February 26, 1863. 

These letters should certainly have some weight, even had the trial 
occurred before a legal court of officers, independent of their Division 
General, and on charges having some color of truth, and supported by 
evidence not utterly irrelevant and contradictory. 

The manner of executing the sentence was just as reckless, illegal, and 
unjust as the matter of the charges, evidence, and the constitution of the 
court, if such it could be denominated with any propriety whatever. 

This is proven by the facts. 

1st. That the sentence was first executed by the prosecutor, Sherman, 
September 16, 1862, before the approval of General Grant, commanding 
the district, had been obtained, or the record had been submitted to the 
Judge-Advocate-General. 

It was next executed by General Grant, October 1st, without any 
seeming knowledge of its previous execution by Sherman. The Judge- 



8 

Advocate-General at once decided the court vvitliont color of authority, 
and its findings and proceedings a nullity. 

Recognizing, nevertheless, the plainlj'-false charges, not even sustained 
by still more truthless and con tradictor3' evidence, he recommended Colonel 
Worthington's dismissal on these flimsy mendacities, under a law of July 
17, 1862, so that the Colonel of the 46th Ohio may indulge the distinction 
and gratification of having been the most frequently and imperfectly dis- 
missed officer in the volunteer service. 

Assistant Adjutant-General Buckingham, then in the War Office, from 
Ohio, becoming aware of these covert proceedings, he, by a word or two 
to Secretary Stanton, had the matter indefinitely suspended. 

Meantime Colonel Worthington knew nothing of this attempted fraud 
till the winter of '63-'64, when, in looking up the matter, by an order 
from the Secretary of War, the papers in the case, supposed b}^ Judge 
Holt to have been lost, were delivered to him by the late General Canby, 
and by hitn (Worthington) retained against the not very earnest remon- 
strance of an Assistant Adjutant-General now no more. 

After failure of his dismissal by the illegal court, this covert attempt was 
doubtless the work of those men and tiieir instruments who had been 
rescued from merited disgrace and degradation in tlie army by his service 
at Shiloh, inuring to their benefit alone, and to his injury. 

Meantime President Lincoln had not only been kept in ignorance of tliat 
service, (excluded as it was from the official reports, or imputed to Gen. 
Sherman,) but, to the Colonel's prejudice, he had been represented to iiini 
(Mr. Lincoln) as a drunken, worthless officer, clearly falling under the law 
of July 17, 1862, as encumbering the service. 

The following episode, however ludicrous, may with propriety for the first 
time have a wiitten record : Still striving for active service, after many 
repulses, he only obtained an interview witli the President by going in 
with the usual crowd March 31, 1864, as a matter of necessity. On Intro- 
ducing himself as late colonel of the 46ch Ohio, Mr. Lincoln (with as 
seemingly severe an expression as he could assume, comical as it was,) 
I'eplied that he had heard of Col. W. frequently as striving for a private 
interview during the past winter. 

After a very short conversation as to his unjust treatment, of which the 
President seemed to know little or nothing, on mention of Gen. Halleck 
declining to interfere In the matter, Mr. Lincoln took occasion to express 
the highest opinion of Halleck's moral integrity and military ability, to 
which, as he evidently saw Col. W. was about to demur, he abruptly ex- 
claimed : " You don't look like you was fit to be a colonel." Suppressing a 
laugh, the Colonel took two steps up to his table, to his evident aston- 
ishment, and said as blandly as possible : Do please, Mr. Lincoln, oblige 
me so exceedingly as to put that opinion Into writing. '"Wh — what — 
what — In — the — world — do you want it In writing foi-?" to which the 
Colonel could only reply : I am considered, Mr. Lincoln, to be a man of 
average veracity, but with all their regard, and my entire respect for you, 

by , should I tell this, no man In the Army of the Tennessee would 

believe me without your written statement. 

Upon this, with somewhat of a grim smile, and without hesitation, he 
wrote as follows, to the exceeding credit of his candor : 

"ExECUTrv^E Mansion, Washington, March 31, 1864. 
" To-day I verbally told Col. Worthington that I did not think him fit 
for a colonel, and now, upon his urgent request, I put it In writing. 

"A. Lincoln." 

"I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the original In mj"^ posses- 
sion. 

"(Signed,) THOMAS EwiNG. 

"April 30, 1872." 



The Lincoln joke in this case proved to be worth $25, paid for the auto- 
graph by Gen. Ewing, when badly wanted, to assist in the pnblication by 
Col. W. of ^'Shiloh or the Tennessee Expedition of 1862," containing in 
great part the record comprised in this compendium as to Col. W.'s court- 
martial, etc. 

To show the value of the opinion impressed upon Mr. Lincoln as to Col. 
W., Gen, Beaui-egard's letter may as well here be appended. 

New Orleans, January 29, 1878. 

Dear Sir : Your favor of the 22d inst. has just been received, &c. 

I willingly state that the stubborn defense of a position on the extreme 
right of the Federal line delayed our advance sufficient to prevent an earlier 
rout of the Federal Army than occurred on April 6, 1862, thus giving time 
to part of Buell's reinforcements to arrive on the field, at Pittsburgh Land- 
ing, just previous to the attack (about 5 p, M.) of the Confederates on that 
last stronghold of the Federals. 

I infer from official Federal reports,* to which I have been lately refer- 
red, that the position on the extreme right, above alluded to, was held by 
the 46th Ohio, Col. Thomas Worthington. [And the 6th Iowa, Lt. Col. 
Cummings, on his left. T. W,] 

Should I be in Washington at the period stated by you, I will be glad to 
make your acquaintance and confer with you further relative to the bloody 
battles of Shiloh. 

I remain, j'ours very respectfully, 

G. T. Beauregard. 

Col. Thomas Worthington, Morrow, Warren Co., Ohio. 

* Keports of Gen. W. T. Sherman, 5th Division, and Col. J. C. McDowell, 
1st Brigade. Lithographed for the 6th Iowa and 46th Ohio volunteers. 



PART III. 



Evidence Excluded hy the Court. 

The court, under General Sherman's direction, having excluded all testi- 
mony of what occurred during the battle, it may be proper to state here, 
very briefly, what would have been proven had not the testimony been ex- 
cluded — and can now be proven, if required : 

1st. That the attack commenced at or before 7, instead of 8, A. M., as 
stated bj' General Sherman. 

2d. Tiiat General Sherman, as stated in his Division report, was just in 
front of his extreme left-center regiment (53d Oiiio) when his orderly was 
killed bj^ the first fire of tlie enemy's advance — when he deserted tlie left 
flank, galloped off" to his quarters, and was not seen in rear of the Union 
line till at least lialf an hour after the attack commenced, at Shiloh Church, 
on tli.e 77th Oliio Regiment. In a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Ben. 
Stanton, of Ohio, dated June, 1862, he states that he had passed along the 
front of the o3d Ohio and five hundred yards to its left when first fired on, 
when liis orderly (Holliday) was killed — about 7 P. M. 

In his Memoirs, while appioving and repeating the statements of his 
Division report, he says tliat he was four hundred yards in front of the 53d 
Ohio Avhen first fired on, which last statement would have placed him tln-ee 
hundred yards within the hostile line. Which of the three statements is 
correct ? 

3d. It would have been proven, besides what he admits of throwing the 
Morton Battery into the liands of the enemy, that the battery was retreat- 
ing along a narrow road in thick woods and undergrowth, where a two- 
horse wagon could scarce turn without backing. That the enemj', in 
victorious pursuit, were witliin gun-shot, as proven bj' the death of Captain 
Behr, wliile tlie troops of botli center brigades had dispersed, or had fled or 
were Hying in disorder past the battery. And therefore none but a mad- 
man, unless he intended the loss of the battery, would have attempted to 
bring it into action ; notwithstanding which the plain inference from his 
report is that in retreating with the caissons, as was their duty, the gun- 
ners, &c., behaved in a cowardly manner. 

4th. By his own report, without any assigned reason for conduct unex- 
ampled as repiehensible in a division commander, he abandoned his only 
organized troops at 9 or 10 A. M., to his aids, when to march in command 
of these troops was an imperative duty, knowing, as he did, that on the pro- 
posed march of about a mile to join on McCiernand's rapidl5'-vanisliing 
right, they would inevitably be attacked, and without a commander be 
dispersed or captured, which it must be inferred was his intention, until 
some explanation is given for such a desertion of his command. 

5th. Tiie retreat was ordered about or a little after 9 A. M., and a few 
minutes later the 6th Iowa on the right was transferred to the left of the 
brigade, leaving Colonel Worthington, the junior colonel in rank, on the 
extreme right of the 1st Brigade, 5th Division, of the Union line ; and 
this witiiout any explanation, caution, or orders whatever, though thus sud- 
denly placed in the post of most responsibilitj' and danger, at what is 
stated by Badeau as the kej^-point to the Pittsbui-gh Landing. 

6th. This mai'ch, which could and should have been completed in half an 
hoin-, fortunately or unfortunately occupied two hours before the right of the 
brigade, marcliing by tlie left flank in a northerly direction, came opposite 
the flanks of the contending armies about 11 A. M. Here, after half an 



12 

hour's delay, to be accounted for only on an intent to have the brigade cap- 
tured or dispersed, the 40th Illinois, in the center, was detached, leaving 
the 46th Ohio apparently deserted, without guides or scouts, or skirmishers, 
on front or flank, but with orders merely to march forward to the battle- 
field, half a mile in front, and steadily receding towards the Landing. 

With the 40th Illinois went the Division (jreneral's Aides, to whom the 
brigade had been by him turned over, and also the Brigade Commander 
and staft', whose desertion can only be accounted for by the knowledge 
that the large Confederate force was approaching the i-igh't of the 46th, not 
over four hundred yards oft", by which it was threatened just after crossing 
a small stream into open woods, with a downward slope to its front and 
I'ight. 

The Colonel was first apprised of the danger by Captain Heath, Com- 
pany A, who directed his attention to a hostile force just over a small 
ravine, about sixty yards to his right, dropping into line on their right at 
a kneel and a ready. 

To retreat or fight was an instant necessity, with no time for considera- 
tion, except that to retreat was to permit the Union right to be turned 
without an eftbrt; and with the result of the route, by 1 P. M. or sooner, 
that occurred three or four hours after. With the chances one to a hun- 
dred of failure, he changed front to the right, and gained the fire (as stated 
in McDowell's report) by not over one second of time. 

Without ordei-s, the 46th Ohio broke to the rear ; and, his horse being 
severel}' wounded, he had barely time to ride round and head the flying 
troops when, exhausted by loss of blood, the horse came to his knees, 
throwing the Colonel his length forward amongst the frightened men ; 
and by this means they were rallied, and held the position two hours, till 
ordered back, when the Union flank was completely turned about 2 p. M., 
April 6, 1862. (See Gen. Beauregard's letter.) 

It could have been shown that if Gen. Sherman did not order this dila- 
tory march and the desertion of the 40th Ohio by his aides and the brigade 
commander, that he approved it. 

7. Tiiat, knowing of course the isolated position and condition of the 
46th Ohio, by its tirst and subsequent firing, by report of his aides and 
some of the fugitives, he made no recognition of the same till over an hour 
after the first fire at noon, when he sent Major Hammond, A. A. G., to 
apprise the Colonel of the 46th that the enemy would soon turn his riglit 
flank, which, with several hundred idle troops and an idle battery, he made 
no efl'ort to prevent. 

8. That, knowing the approach of the Confederate flanking force, he 
left this battery over three (3) iiours inactive, till captured by the enemj^ 
with plenty of idle men to man it and notiiing in the waj' of getting am- 
munition at the Landing, less than two miles oft". 

9. That about 10 A. M. tiie loth and 16tli Iowa regiments came up to 
the aid of McClernand's right, near where he Avas lurking with a few hun- 
dred fugitives of his two center brigades. That he not only gave no assist- 
ance to these regiments, being liimself sheltered by rising ground on 
their right, but deserted them without notice while they were in action, 
and afterwards reported that wliile ''we were so hardly pressed two Iowa 
regiments approaclied from the rear, but could not be brought up to the 
fire raging in liis front." 

10. That when the 40th Illinois detached, as above stated, and reported 
to him, (about 400 men,) he ordered it to charge a hostile battery about 
GOO yards oft", and out of sight, in front, supported by five times their 
number, the consequence being that the regiment accomplished nothing, 
but was driven back with the loss of 220 killed and woinided, or ov«r half 
their number in half an hour. 

11. About 4:30 p. M., according to Gen. McClernand's report, just as h(; 
had repulsed the last attack of the enemy on our right flank, the right of 
the Union line (Sherman's troops) gave^ way, without being attacked. 



12. Instead of what he states in his report and a subsequent letter, that 
he advanced on the 7th of April so far towards the enemy about daylight 
that he had to wait till near noon for Buell's troops to get abreast, Gen. 
L. Wallace reports having commenced his advance on the Union right 
shortly after daybrealc, and, having been some time in action, that as Gen. 
Sherman's division, next on his left, had not made its appearance to sup- 
port his advance, a lialt was ordered for it to come up. 

13th. That twice afterwards the troops on his left gave way, his position 
at their second repulse becoming critical, and tliat he was aided bj^ part of 
a Michigan regiment sent by General McClernand, and also by Colonel 
Willich of General McCook's Division of Buell's Army. (Where was 
Sherman then?) 

14. McClernand reports that on the 7th April the first Union troops seen 
on his right were tliose of General Wallace, 3d Division of Grant's army ; 
that soon after he observed Sherman's advance on his right, when an irreg- 
ular fire of the enemy caused the 53d Ohio (one of Slierman's regiments) to 
retire in disorder, breaking his line. 

15th. On tile Sth he, Sherman, was out with Hildebrands (his 3d Brigade) 
in pursuit of tlie enemy's cavalry, a large; force of Union cavahy being part 
of his command, which he took no care to keep in supporting distance of 
tiie infantry. As Colonel Hildebrand reports, " after his skirmishers dis- 
covered the rebel cavalry, the 77tii Olno was ordered up to support them. 
Soon after forming a line of battle, a large body of cavalry made a dashing 
charge upon the regiment, wiiich was forced back in disorder under cover 
of our cavalry. Uniiappily the cavalry was not sutficiently near to render 
assistance, and the regiment lost 51 men, 19 of whom were killed on the 
spot." This operation was akin to the attempt to bring a battery into action 
on the 6th, in face of the enemy, without infantry support — ^the infantry 
being neither thrown into a square, nor supported by idle cavahy at hand ; 
and tiie above, witiiout further examples, would seem to be sulficient to 
disestablish the reputation of any commander known to Instory. Instead 
of which Sliei-man, by this brilliant record of a subordinate's service at 
Slnloh, obtained his present reputation as a '•'■great commander^'''' for 
wliicii lie was made Major-General of volunteers in May, 1862, and Briga- 
dier General in the United States army in 1S63. 

He did, howcer, condescend so far as to say in his report that Colonel 
McDowell's subordinate. Colonel Worthington, displayed geat personal 
courage, and in consideration tliereof recommended Colonel McDowell for 
promotion as Brigadier, who failed, liowever, of confirmation, on tlie re- 
monstrance of his subordinates that lie iiad deserted the First Brigade with 
General Sherman's aides, as above set fortli, just before tlie first fire of the 
46rh Oliio, April 6, 1862; but, as is now understood, by the General's 
order or approval. 

It will be seen, if tlie above statement is at all correct, tViat the 
Colonel of the 46tli had to contend on tiiis fiaiik march and attack, not only 
with the Confederates present in line of battle on his riglit and front, but 
also with the operations of the Division Commander, being thus exposed 
(as General Scott not inaptly termed the censures of enemies in his ab- 
sence) to a fire in the rear from a General who kept in rear of McCler- 
nand's right fiank. 

In conclusion, as to tins flank march of a mile in tliree hours, witiiin 
reaeii of the enemy, tlie Colonel of the 46th Oliio is free to admit tliat lie 
himself, together with the Army of the Tennessee, on the principle of thanks 
to tiie bridge, however rotten, tiiat bears j^ou over, are under very peculiar 
obligations to the General of the Fifth Division, for this stupid attempt at 
the destruction of his First Brigade before getting it into action on McCler- 
nand's riglit, as he reports was intended when deserting it. Inasmuch as it 
led to very opposites results, especially beneficial to himself and the then 
party of tiie Union; one result being tiie presidency of General Grant, and 
anotlKsr his own present position. 

This expression of obligation the Colonel may, perliaps, be permitted to 



14 

qualify by an exception to the fifteen or more years of poverty and obloquy 
to wliich he has been subjected for shaking the tree of knowledge too freely 
over the red field of Shiloh, if not for a service which has obtained for his 
Division Commander near sixteen (16) years of glory, reputation, and 
emolument — past all example in past time under such circumstances — 
which circumstances, it is to be hoped, for the moral character, military 
credit, and general welfare of the Republic, may never occur again. 

And now, to show the animus "of the prosecutor, as referred to by the 
Hon, A. F. Perry towards Col. W.," and how, perhaps, it in some sort 
originated, is here introduced the following extract from the '•'■Memoirs^'''' 
made famous, or infamous, by General Boynton, whose strictures are, as 
Sancho says, mere cheesecakes and custards to what they might have been, 
had the foregoing facts been known to that eminent journalist. 

Extract from Sherman'' s Memoirs, vol. l,page 225. 

On the 10th of March, I embarked my Division from Paducah. Among 
my Colonels, I had a strange character — Thos. Worthington, Colonel 46th 
Ohio. He was a graduate of the Class of 1827, and therefore older than 
General Halleck, Genei-al Grant, or myself, and claimed to know of war 
more than all of us put together. In ascending the river, he did not keep his 
place in the column, but pushed on, and reached Savannah one clay before 
my Division. When I reached that place, I found tliat Worthington had 
landed his regiment, and was flying about, giving orders "as if he were 
Commander-in-Chief. I made him get back to his boat, and gave liim to 
understand that he must thereafter keep his place." (Which Col. W. con- 
siders was not under command of Sherman. — T. W.) "General Smith 
arrived about the 13th, with a large fleet of boats," «fee. 

All of which is as truthful as the balance of the Memoirs. 
Tiie order for the embarkation of five regiments, which afterwards 
became part of Sherman's Division, Avas as follows : 

Head-Quarters, District of Cairo, \ 

Paducah, March 6, 1862, (not 10th.) ) 
Special Order No. 74. 

Tile following regiments will embark to-day for Savannah, Tennessee 
river, and there report to Major-General Smith, &c.: Oiiio 46th, Colonel 
Worthington ; Oliio 4Sth, Colonel Sullivan ; Illinois 40th, Colonel Hicks ; 
Ohio 53cl, Colonel Appier; Ohio 72d, Colonel Buckland. 

By order of 

Brig. Gen. W. T. Sherman. 

That he miglit charge Col. W. with insubordination, a column of boats is 
introduced, contrary to a subsequent order for each regiment to start as soon 
as ready. It so happened that the 46th Oliio was nearly out of stores, as 
were likely others. At any rate, all stopped at Fort Henry, except tht; 
46th, and half of the Illinois 40tli, which readied Savannali on the Sth, or 
three days befoi-e the fleet with General C. F. Smitli, and not General Sher- 
man, in the lead. Tlie five companies of the 40th Illinois were out of 
stores, and had to return on the 10th. 

In the above extract of a dozen lines there are about as manj' false state- 
ments, expressed or implied, tlie chief of wiiich being, first, that his divis- 
ion left Paducah on tlie 10th, instead of the 6tii of Marcli ; second, tliat 
there was an order for a colunui of boats ; third, tliat Sherman reached 
Savannah witli his division one day, instead of tlu-ee, after the 46th ; fourth, 
tiiat Gen. Sniifcli readied Savannaii, about tlie 13th, after iiis division, in- 
stead of the lltli, before his division; fifth, tliat Col. W. had landed his 
regiment, none of wliicii had been lancUnl but the sick, who were in liospi- 
tais, but oi-dered back to a close and ci'owded boat with Slierinan's diar- 
acteristic hiunanity. A fuller statement of this matter, with a testimonial 
of the citizens to the good conduct of the 46tli, will be found in " Shiloh 
or the Tennessee Campaign of 1872,'''' pages 76, 77. 



15 

The last special regimental order given tlie Colonel of the 4Gth and re- 
snlts are equally characteristic of the "animus" of the Commander-in- 
Chief towards him, as follows : 

Special Order No. 101. 
Head-Quarters Fifth Division, 

Army of the Tennessee, 

Lafayette, Tbnn., June 25, 1862. 
The 52d Indiana volunteers will move early in tiie morning to the bridge 
three miles west of tiiis place and form a junction with tlie 5Gth Ohio 
volunteers, the senior officer taking command of both regiments. These 
regiments will guard the bridges and road to Germantown, and draw their 
supplies from Memphis. 

Colonel McDowell, commanding 2d Brigade, will detail the 4Gth Ohio 
volunteei-s to remain and, with one section of artillery detached by Major 
Taylor, protect the depot in Lafayette and the bridges and railroad. 
By order of Major-General W. T. Sherman. 

J. H. Hammond, Assistant Adjutant-General. 
P. S. — The railroad having been broken to-daj'', and an attack being 
imminent, great vigilance must be exercised. 

J. H. Hammond, Assistant Adjutant- General. 

An order for the 5th Division having been given during the day to fall 
back towards Corinth, leaving many Union citizens about Lafayette ex- 
posed to the enemy. Col. W. had sent to Gen. Sherman, about 9 P. M., a 
remonstrance against their exposure without any means of defense or pro- 
tection. Col. Walcut and Capt. Heath, Company A, by whom the missive 
was sent to Sherman, soon returned, stating that Col. W. would be arrested 
if he sent in any moi'e sucli papers. The result was the above order, fol- 
lowed immediately by another, countermanding the same as to the 52d Illi- 
nois and 56th Ohio, without notice to Col. W., ordering them to Mem- 
phis, tliirty miles off. 

Next morning, about 10 A. M., he became aware that the 46th, as at 
Shiloh, was deserted. Several of the pickets also having come in with 
warnings from planters that the post would be attacked witliin twenty-four 
hours, and Major Hammond having (unknown to Sherman) given warning 
by the postscript. Col. W. having taken care of his intrencliing tools, had 
the post so fortitied during the niglit as to be able, with 300 men fit for 
duty, to repel 2,000. 

Otherwise he would doubtless have been attacked and perhaps captured, 
as was a large Union detachment at Murfreesboro the 13th of July, 1862. 

The General of Division (as was understood) intimated insubordination 
on the part of the Colonel for this fortification without orders. 

He also refused him ten horsemen to keep a lookout for Col. Jackson 
and Major Porter, who, ten or twelve miles off, on Coldwater, had 800 
men, which on occasion could be doubled. 

For want of cavalry scouts to give warning of the dangex*, these Confed- 
erates on Coldwater did attack his pickets about the first of July, one of 
whom, J. M. Harper, a boy of eighteen, was killed. 

The "animus " so often above indicated was exemplified bj'^ twice brigad- 
ing Col. W. under volunteer officers without military knowledge or capa- 
city, though he had been for many years General of Ohio militia ; had grad- 
uated high (sixth in engineering) at West Point thirty-five years before, 
and commanded the best-instructed regiment in the division, or perhaps 
in the army, as proven at Shiloh, where his military education availed the 
Government more than the expenses of West Point for centuries. Yet he 
was retained under the same command after the battle, and the Brigade 
Commander to whose position and responsibility lie had been transferred 
at the most critical and dangerous period of the conflict on April 6, 1862, 
was recommended by Shemnan and Grant for promotion, as hereinbefore 
stated, wiiile Col. W. was ignominiously and illegally dismissed the service 



16 

for the performance of the highest moral duty incumbent on a gentleman, 
a citizen, and a soldier. That duty, so far as his circumstances will per- 
mit, is perfected bj' this "Memoir," whicli will be found as correct as 
another regarding the same events has been found truthless. 

And the above exposition may be considered as in some sort the con- 
clusion of tlie defense he was not permitted time to make at Memphis in 
18G2, tliough not all exhaustive of the .subject. And if the Colonel of the 
4Gth Ohio, l)y a moderate and judicious use of stimulants, &c., had done no 
other service than obtaining tln-ough a oourt-martial the official and histo- 
rical information above recorded, the same should have been not only in 
mitigation of liis ha^dng remained under the influence of liquor to the 
extent proven during the wliole campaign of 18G2, but should have been 
worthj^ to some extent of the promotion and emolument accorded to others 
for his meritorious conduct in tins behalf, outside the battle of Shiloh ; and 
for tlie service performed, by a method so unexampled in military history, 
he trusts he may at least be exculpated from groundless charges, through 
which he has been consigned to poverty and oblocxu}' through nearly six- 
teen j'ears of his old age. 

Respectfully submitted, 

T. worthi:n^gton, 

Formerly Col. 4&h Begt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 
Washington, D. C, March 8, 1878. 



APPEKDIX. 

Tennessee River, March 8th, 1862. 
Received of T. Worthington, ^March Sth, 1862, at Britt's Landing, a 
correct account in duplicate of oats and bags obtained for use of the pub- 
lic service, the amount for oats being $17.62, and for bags $8.40, unless 
returned. W. O, Britt. 

Head-Quarters First Division op the \ 

Expedition up the Tennessee, March V2th, 1862. j 
You are hereby ordered to move j^our sick aboard the /. B. Adams, 
where they will remain until further orders. By order of Brigadier-Gen- 
eral W. T. Sherman, commanding First Division. 

D. W. Hartshorn, Division Surgeon. 
Col. T. WORTINGTON, 46^^ OMo Vols. 

^ .United States Internal Revenue, "j 

Collector's Office, District, Ohio, J- 

Columbus, Ohio, February 15, 1877. J 
Dear Colonel : In answer to your inquiry, it gives me pleasure to say 
that in the camp of instruction, called "Camp Ljon," at Worthington, 
Ohio, of the 46th Ohio, of whicli you were the Colonel, you taught the reg- 
iment a prompt movement in changing front, that was not found in any of 
the tactics. 

Also, that I am positive that the 46th, at the battle of Shiloh, was placed 
on the right under the direction of Major Sanger of General Sherman's 
staff. Chas. C. Walcutt, 

Lieut. Col. 4jdth O. V. I. at Shiloh. 
Col. Thos. Worthington. 

Washington, Ohio, March, 1877. 
I concur in the within statements. I can add, from my remembrance 
of Colonel Worthington's history, that he was, so far as I know, the first 
of the officers of the army to insist upon and practice the intrenchment of 
the front of the moving columns as a constant guard against surprise, and 
a means of added strength in operating in the wooded and difficult coim- 
tr}*^ of the South. He also showed his zeal in publishing, at his own cost, 
and in advance of official editions, a useful manual of tactics, based on Scott 
and Hardee. (Signed,) J. D. Cox. 



PART IV. 



Brief of Worthington'' s claim for Government supplies, 1861. 

Ap;reement written at Cincinnati, in accordance witli a proposal to gnp- 
pl}^ Camp Dennison, Ohio, with water, accepted by A. Q, M. Dickersoii, 
wlio was tlien pajing 40 cents per barrel of fortj' gallons, and, except T. 
W.'s, had no acceptable and responsible proposal at a less rate. 

Cincinnati, Mai/ 16, 1861. 
I do hereby agree to furnish 12,000 to 18,000 troops at Camp Dennison, 
Ohio, with 1 J gallons of water per man per daj% at 15 cents per 100 gal- 
lons, and to furnish any additional amount required at 40 cents per 100 
gallons. 

T. Worthington. 

1st. The rate of 15 cents per 100 gallons was for the supply by a steam 
pump and pipes. The rate of 40 cents per 100 gallons being for supply by 
wheels, by which means all the supply, except a fraction by wells and 
springs, was furnished. 

2d. On the 3d June, Capt. Dickerson, A. Q. M., wrote to Gen. Bates, 
commanding the camp, that the Government, by contract, was to keep tlie 
receiving casks accessible, and if they were not so. Gen. W. would have a 
claim for damages; but thej'^ remained inaccessible. 

3d. In August, 1863, Camp Qr. Mr. D. W. McClung, by order of the Q. 
M. General, made a report of the case, and stated : (I) That the contract 
was more than filled by Col. W. ; but not one stipulation, except payment 
of the contract rate, was complied with by the Government. (2) That the 
obstacles thrown or left in the way of the contractor increased his expenses 
at least fifty per cent. (3) That he was not protected, as agreed by the 
Government, in the performance of his contract. His pipes were torn up, 
pump destroyed, life threatened, and his water-carts excluded from the 
camp all night, when required to furnish part of the supply by daylight. 
And in February, 1869, the Tiiird Auditor stated that in this way the Gov- 
ei-nment had substantially abrogated the contract. (4) McClung reported 
that by the action of the Government in erecting a slaughter-house above; 
the camp, the distance of hauling was made three times greater than tliat 
agreed on. 

4th. The Assistant engineer, L. S. Gotten, made affidavit to the increase 
of distance, and that the expenses of delivery were in proportion to the 
distance hauled, which is indorsed by Governor Cox. 

5th. Generals Bates and Cox, commandants of the camp, recommend 
a settlement, without reference to the contract, at what the service was 
worth. 

6th. Except for the first ten days' supply, paid for at fifteen cents per 
100 gallons, Col. W, has been paid forty cents, the estimated, but less than 
the actual cost of delivery. 

7th. On the second item, for increased hauling, nothing has been paid— 
.about $14,500. 

8th. Nothing on the third item, for failure on part of the Government to 
comply with the contract, about $4,400. 

9th. Nothing for destruction of property, &c.. about $2,400. 

10th. On February 21, 1876, the Third Auditor reported nothing paid 
on tliese items, for want of jurisdiction by the accounting officers. 



18 

On ii iTlioai'iii,<>', by request of Secretary Bristovv, the same Aiulitor re- 
l)()rte(l M:irch "20, lS7(i, tliat these items liad been eoiisidei-ed, iiUovved. and 
])aid \n oontradietinu of all previous repoi-ts, and without any proof of pay- 
ment. 

11th. On a rehearing, by reqnest of President Hayes, the same olRcer 
reported tlie same without evidence March 20, 1877. 

Colonel Worthino-toa considers that the assertion of pa}'ment is an ad- 
mission of the justice of these items, and of the Jurisdiction of the ac- 
counting officers, and now requires the payment of tiiese items, or evidence 
of their payment. 

12th. The present Deputy Auditor having suggested in a letter to Geii- 
ei-al Schenck, Marcli 2os 1870, that tlie opinion of Governor Cox of Ohio, 
then SecretMi-y of the Interioi-, should be had. Governor Cox makes the 
statement as follows : 

House of Representatives, 
Washington, D. C, March o, 1878. 

Having been commandant at Camp Deiinison, Ohio, in May, 1861, when 
CohjnerWorthington undertook to sni)ply the camp with water, L know 
enough of the cii'cumstanccs to say that I believe the statement of Colonel 
McCiung, Post Qr. Mr., to be ti-iie. I have no doubt the embarrassment of 
Colonel AVorthington, in th(! execution of his contract, was due to the inter- 
ference of officers of the Government, and especially the establishment of 
the slaughter-house above the camp, made it necessarj'' totally to change 
the cliaracter of his work. From all the facts which came to my knowl- 
edge wliile I was in the camp, through May, June, and into July, 18G1, 
1, believe Colonel Worthington to be entitled to damages for the losses ho 
suH'ered by i-eason of interference by officers and soldiers with liis work, 
and by failure of the Government to comi)ly with the contiact on its part. 
(Signed) J. D. Cox, lateMaJ. Gen. U. S. Volunteers. 

i;{th. llule of Second Comptroller's bureau applicable to T. Worthing- 
ton's claim, according to the account of Camp Quartermaster Col. McClung 
and Major-General J. D. Cox, one of the commandants at Camp Dennison 
in 18(31: 

"Contractors should be made good for all expenses and losses which are 
the direct and legitimate consequences of the interference of the Govern- 
ment in the performance of their contracts." 

14th. Extract fiom the Third Auditor's first decision in the case, March 
9, 18G7: 

"It is apparent that the claimant is equitably entitled to remuneration 
for the increased quantity and distance hauled," &c. 

Under this decision an allowance was made for increased quantity, but 
nothing for increased distance. 

T. AVORTHINGTON. 




AT SHILQH, 
WARXS 



^<OBTHM>,-. 




AlEI)iVLorHOM)R 



GEN. W. T. SHERMAN ^ 

DECLINES AN INVESTIGATION 



RECORD OF COL WORTHINGTON'S COURT-WIARTIAL, 

So nothing is left but an Appeal to the People. 



Washington, D. C, March 31, 10 a. m. 
Gen. W. T. Sherman : If it is to be iufei-red from your statement in 
the Wasliington Fost and New York Herald, as to my dismissal by your 
court-martial in August, 1862, tliat you reassert the charges and evidence of 
the record to wliich you refer, and are willing the same shall be investigated, 
together with your conduct in the battle of Shiloh, (excluded from the 
same,) please signify to the chairman of either Military Committee that 
you agree to an investigation ; otherwise, return this paper to me, and 
oblige, 

Your obedient servant, 

T. WORTHINGTON, 

Late Col. 46t7i Regt. O. V. I. 

In answer to the above was the following indorsement : 
" Papers returned according to request. 

W. T. Sherman, General.'''' 



Extracts from a Diary of the Tennessee Expedition, 1862, by T. Worthing- 
ton, Colonel idth Regiment O. V. I., for printing a proof -sheet of which he 
was cashiered. 

Wednesday, March 26, 1862. — At Camp Shiloh, three miles from Pitts- 
burg Landing. A company being called for picket duty to-day, detailed 
Captain Sliarp's Company B. Indications of an attack, if the country peo- 
ple are to be believed. Their pickets are around, and too near us, showing 
a strong, elective force. 

Thursday, March 27, 1862. — This afternoon two of Sharp's pickets 
were tired on by the rebel horse, about 4| p. M., not a mile from camp. A 
disgrace to the army that such should be the case, and an indication that 
they are covering some forward movement ; yet Sherman is improvident 
as ever, and takes no defensive and scarce any precautionary measures. 
He snubs me, and has no time to hear even a suggestion. 

Friday, March 28, 1862. — Having suggested to McDowell the sending 
out of a stronger picket, he ordered thirty more men, which were imme- 
diate!}'' volunteered. If Beauregard does not attack us, he and the chivalry 
are disgraced forever, if for nothing else. 

Saturday, March 29, 1862. — Sherman has I'efused to sign a requisition 
for seventy-two axes for my regiment, making it twenty-two ; and while 
a slight abattis might prevent or avert an attack, there are no axes to make 
it, nor is there a sledge or crowbar in his division, and scarce a set of tools, 
out of my regiment. 

Monday, March 31, 1862.— Further indications through the pickets that 
an attack is imminent, and though I do not fear the result, a sudden attack, 
if violentlj' made, as it toill be, may tiu'ow us back foi* months. Tlie men 
are discouraged at our delay liere and the close vicinity of the rebel pickets. 



which slionld be driven off. Sherman is inviting an attack, which I hope 
maj' occnr, but for which we are unprepai*ed. 

Tuesday. April 1, 1862. — Have now over one hundred rounds of ammu- 
nition for all available men, and feel easy on that point. Ordered the cap- 
tains to send ill accounts of clothing, &c., wanted, which the quartermaster 
is very careless about getting. Still no axes, which now he cannot get if 
he would, and which are worth more than guns at present. 

Thuksday, April 3, 1862. — Eode to Pittsburg Landing. The place is 
crowded and in disorder below, with noise and gambling on the bank above, 
across tlie road from tlie post-office. Hunted np and down for clothing 
and axes, and found that Sherman had forbidden his quartei'm aster from 
receiving anj^thing. 

Tlie indications are (still) of an attack, which I have also intimated to 
McDowell; we should now have on our right at least six batteries and two 
regiments of cavalry to warn the rear. With thick woods before us and 
pickets scarce a mile out, we have no defenses whatever, and no means of 
givin<r an alarm but by the fire of musketrj'. The troops cover too much 
ground and cannot support each other, and a violent attack, which we may 
expect, may di-ive tiiem back in detail. God help us, with so many sick 
men in camp, if we are attacked, there being over five thousand unfit for 
duty. 

Friday, April 4, 1862. — One of McDowell's pickets was shot in tiie 
hand about noon. A detail of Taylor's cavalry was sent out three or four 
miles; found four to six hundred rebel cavalry, and fell back, returning 
about 4 p. M. 

Everything is carried on in a very negligent way, and nothing but the 
same conduct on the other side can save us from disaster. They can con- 
centrate one hundred thousand men from the heart of rebeldom, and, with 
three or fonr railroads, have far greater facilities for handling troops than 
we have. 

Have I)rigade ordei-s to stack arms at daylight till further orders. Keep 
two companies lying on their arms, and though as quiet as possible, look 
for an attack every hour. 

Saturday, April 5, 1862. — Rode out to Sharp's pickets at sunrise and 
found two men (rebel ])ick(>ts) wounded yesterday, who died last night at 
tlie Widow Howell's. About 7 o'clock A. M. the rebels drove in Lieutenant 
Crar^^ from the Widow Howell's, cretting possession of their dead men. 
Heard In th(^ evening that the rebels had establlsiied three guns (six-pound- 
ers) opposite Hildebrand's brigade, on our left, across tiie valley. Hear of 
five more of tlielr I'egiments arriving to-daj*. 

Sunday, April 6, 1862. — A clear, cool morning. Rode out to the pickets 
at sunrise, and soon after the enemy was seen advancing past the Howell 
house. 



REPUBLICAN PARTY ARE NOT BOUND BY THE PARTY OF 

1862. 

Washington, June 6, 1862. 
Dear Sir : Your letter of May 23d came to liand. I saw Mr. Wade, as 
you requested. 

It is a delicate matter for anyone connected with the Legislative Depart- 
ment of the Government to interfere with the Military details, and I doubt 
whether Mr. Wade will think \t judicious to do anything. 

Whatever Is done in regard to inquiries will have to be accomplished, I 
think, tlirougli the regular Military channels. 

Truly youi-s, 

v. b. horton. 
Col. Thos. Worthington. IA / /-^ 

Comvianding AQth Ohio Volunteers. lA/l^u^ ^^-vi^t,***. CT '^ C(/u-t^^ 



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